Man convicted in Flower girl murder case

MINEOLA, N.Y. (Oct. 17) - A jury convicted a man on Tuesday of murder for driving drunk the wrong way on a highway, slamming head-on into a wedding limousine and killing the chauffeur and a 7-year-old flower girl.

Prosecutors said Martin Heidgen, 25, drove his pickup truck more than 2 miles on the Long Island highway before ramming head-on into the limousine in July 2005. They contended Heidgen never tried to stop and turned slightly toward the limousine in the seconds before the crash.

Heidgen, of Valley Stream, had at least 14 drinks before getting behind the wheel; his blood-alcohol level, 0.28, was more than three times the 0.08 legal limit in New York state, prosecutors said.

Kate Flynn and limousine driver Stanley Rabinowitz, 59, were killed. Five other members of the Flynn family were injured.

A scream echoed through the courtroom as the murder conviction was read, with several of the jurors in tears as the slain girl's mother collapsed sobbing into her weeping husband's arms. The verdict followed a gut-wrenching, five-week trial that was filled with gruesome images and testimony.

Jennifer Flynn, who testified about holding her daughter's decapitated head immediately after the wreck, praised the jury for its decision.

"It was the right verdict," she said. "I'm happy for that."

Jurors, who deliberated for five days, saw a horrifying video from the limousine's surveillance camera that showed Heidgen's pickup truck barreling toward the car moments before the crash. It ended with the metal-on-metal crunch of the two vehicles colliding.

In closing arguments, Heidgen's defense attorney called the murder charge "extreme" and suggested jurors return a guilty verdict on a lesser count of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a four-year prison term.

Defense attorney Stephen LaMagna complained that prosecutors held Heidgen to the "same standard as a cold-blooded murderer" but insisted, "this is a kid who drank too much and got lost on the way home."

Heidgen faces 25 years to life in prison. The jury, which was sequestered on the fourth day of deliberations, had a choice of convicting him on the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter, which carries up to 15 years in prison.

"Thank God," said Keith Rabinowitz, son of the dead limo driver. "It's about time. I'm glad that he was prosecuted and the truth came out."

Damn, that's very fucking horrible. May that fucker get what he deserves.

However, is it really "murder", because isn't murder when you purposedly kill someone? I don't think the guy got up one morning and said, "Ok, I'm gonna get drunk and kill two innocent people.". Even if his fucking useless brain didn't make him think twice about getting behind the wheel.

is it really "murder", because isn't murder when you purposedly kill someone? I don't think the guy got up one morning and said, "Ok, I'm gonna get drunk and kill two innocent people."

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Well IMPO a car is a deadly weapon if used irresponsibly. And by driving drunk a person lacks the common sense to use it responsibly.

Second he made the decision to get wasted with his .24+ alcohol-blood level and again he made the decision to drive in his drunken state.

And we ALL know how dangerous drunk driving is. So IMPO a drunk driver is no different then a murderer in this case. He may not have thought to himself "Hey, I'm going to hit a limo and kill 2 people" But he definitely didn't do anything to avoid the outcome.

It should be man slaughter.. Second Degree.. Not murder. for there to be murder there has to be intent.. I agree he should go to jail for a long time, but not convicted of murder..

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Okay, I can see what you're saying even if I personally don't agree. But correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't manslaughter just a lesser degree charge of murder?

Maybe a charge of this severity is what is needed to scare people out of drunk driving. I mean the present standard doesn't work, the commercials don't work. So maybe a charge this severe is what's needed to scare people straight.

And I just got to thinking, I wonder where this guy was comming from that he was that plastered anyway. I hope it wasn't a party, because if I was the host of said party I'd be feeling pretty crummy knowing that one of my party guests killed someone driving drunk from MY party

Perhaps the whole turning into the limo was the damning aspect of the case. Personally, I think he's still getting off easy. I can't imagine, nor do I want to know what it's like to hold the head of a dead child in my hands - especially if it's one of my own.

Driving on the wrong side of the road does not necessarily equal playing chicken. It could just mean drunk and stupid. After watching the video, I'm inclined to say he was just drunk and confused.

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Two miles down the wrong side though...

There had to be other people on the road at that time.

I guess the issue is that people need to stop doing this kind of thing, advertisements don't work, so there needs to be really implications for this. If you drink and then drive, you will be punished severely...

Maybe he thought it was a two way highway, and any other cars he passed just happened to be in the right lane for that. If you watch the video, he WAS on the correct side of the road (if it would have been a two-way).

This could have just have easily been some confused old person. Why doesn't anybody try to get THEM off the road?

Maybe he thought it was a two way highway, and any other cars he passed just happened to be in the right lane for that. If you watch the video, he WAS on the correct side of the road (if it would have been a two-way).

This could have just have easily been some confused old person. Why doesn't anybody try to get THEM off the road?

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I get your point about the right side of the road, and I guess that he didn't intend to kill these people, but I still think the punishment would fit this crime. They have to prove a point that if you kill someone while driving drunk, there will be consequences, not just a slap on the wrist.

As for the old people, they are dangerous and a lot of them should not be aloud to drive any longer.

This stupid punk is getting off easy as far as I'm concerned. He should have been given the death sentence. Whether he intended to do it or not is irrelevant, because he still took the life of two people through his irresponsible actions. You commit the crime you need to do the time. Period.

Personally, I hope this opens the door for a lot more "I was drunk" defences to get shot out the window. If you drink and are prone to do stupid stuff... you should drink someplace safe or just admit that you have no personal restraint when it comes to your "pastime".

I really feel sorry for the family here. I mean, I have a seven month old and I can't imagine life without her. Let alone holding her decapitated head in my hands after some irresponsible prick took her life through his actions and bad judgement. If I was the father... I'd probably be on trail for murder or at least battery, because no one would be able to keep me away from him.